


The Blink Of An Eye

by Ravenclaw_Peredhel



Category: The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Gen, Maedhros is a good parent, Maglor is a Good Parent, Shapeshifter Elrond, Shapeshifter Elros, eldritch peredhil
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:15:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28132263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ravenclaw_Peredhel/pseuds/Ravenclaw_Peredhel
Summary: A little after the arrival of the Host of the West, a small group goes to Amon Ereb to persuade the remnants of the House of Fëanor to aid them, or at least relinquish their hostages.They expected to find many things, but what they did find was not one of them at all...
Relationships: Elrond Peredhel & Elros Tar-Minyatur, Elrond Peredhel & Elros Tar-Minyatur & Maedhros | Maitimo, Elrond Peredhel & Elros Tar-Minyatur & Maglor | Makalaurë, Elrond Peredhel & Maedhros | Maitimo, Elrond Peredhel & Maglor | Makalaurë, Elros Tar-Minyatur & Maedhros | Maitimo, Elros Tar-Minyatur & Maglor | Makalaurë, Maedhros | Maitmo & Maglor | Makalaurë & Elrond Peredhel & Elros Tar-Minyatur
Comments: 6
Kudos: 34





	1. Amon Ereb

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Lords of Amon Ereb](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24789502) by [JazTheBard](https://archiveofourown.org/users/JazTheBard/pseuds/JazTheBard). 
  * Inspired by [With Eyes of Nightingales](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26407858) by [JazTheBard](https://archiveofourown.org/users/JazTheBard/pseuds/JazTheBard). 



Amon Ereb loomed forbodingly over the little party of elves and maiar, the mountain fortress perched like an eagle on the crags towering above them. They wound their way up the little path, apprehensive to say the least. Who knew what they would find within the fortress?

They were admitted only grudgingly, after shouting up to the guards for several minutes, assuring them that they were who they said they were. And that they meant no immediate harm to the inhabitants of Amom Ereb. 

Within, the fortress was much less grim. The thick stone walls still towered high overhead and the sky was still grey with the threat of snow, but the courtyard was bustling, and filled with chatter. Elves, and indeed some Humans and a few Dwarves, were running to and fro, obviously clearing up aftet something. They carried banners and trestle tables, talking and laughing as though they were any normal group of beings. You would not think to look at them that they were Kinslayers, that they were cursed. 

The visitors were still standing, gaping in the gateway when a guard approached them. She clicked her heels together and spoke in a clipped, crisp voice. A closer look revealed her to be Edain, which confused them. Why would the, by all accounts, snobby Feanorians have a human in a high guard position? "If you would follow me, I will take you to the Lords and Lady." 

She was not talkative. Any questions posed by them was answered by a grunt or equally unenlightening sound. So, they eventually gave up, and contented themselves with trying to fathom their surroundings. Amon Ereb was not simply built upon the mountain, but was a virtual city within it, having been begun by the Noldor and then ending up a collaboration between all three of the Free Peoples. Not that the visitors knew this. They only knew that a fortress of the size that they had seen Amon Ereb to be could not be so large as to have them walk for nigh a quarter of an hour already at a brisk pace and not yet have arrived at their destination.

Finally, they came before a large wooden door, which was the personal quarters of the Lords and Lady, and their children. ''Elrond! Elros! Enough! I have told you, time and again, no fire or similarly dangerous forms inside!"

"Sorry Nana. We didn't mean to." A frustrated sigh came audibly through the thick door.

"Well, I suppose I should be glad that we don't get many visitors then. It's a sight!"

"Seregruth, meleth, it's just a few scorch marks." The guard threw the doors open and marched in. Inside, was a large, airy room, hung with beautiful tapestries and generally decorated in a very familiar manner. 

An elleth stood in front of two rather shamefaced children, hands on her hips. Behind them, a dark haired ellon sat reading by the fire, a grin playing over his lips. The elleth was pretty enough by elven standards, with hair the colour of chick down in a long plait draped over her shoulders. Shining blue eyes and red lips pursed in a highly Edain manner stared down at the two children. She wore a leather tunic and leggings, a sword belted by her side and a long over-robe of crimson lent her austere outfit a splash of colour as well making it a little less casual. In front of the elleth, the two children seemed like male clones of her, even down to the shining eyes, which was odd as children as young as them would have been born well after the end of the Treelight. Another ellon was standing behind her, grinning at the two boys. His fiery hair and prosthetic hand left them in absolutely no doubt who he was.

"Lady Seregruth, Lord Maedhros, Lord Maglor. The embassy from the Host of the West." The guard clicked her heels together and bowed, sending a mischievous wink towards the boys. She left, and the elleth turned fully to face them. Arafinwë could not stifle his horrified gasp.

"Netye?" Even with how much she had changed, he could still recognise his maternal cousin. Her face, once so warm and gentle, was cold and hard, her eyes piercing. A thin raised scar ran from her left temple to just below her right ear, bisecting her eyebrow and twisting her lip downwards. In Aman, Netye had been pretty and delicate, weeping over even an ant's death. She had never worn anything but pretty silks and other fine fabrics, and would certainly have thrown a fit if anyone had tried to dress her in leather. Yet here she stood, wearing what seemed to be battle worn leathers and sword, with a simple cloth overrobe over the top. 

"Netye died many years ago. I am Seregruth now." Her voice was as cold and hard as the rest of her, her suspicion of them ringing through every syllable. Seemingly feeling her wariness, the two elflings shrank against her, hiding in the folds of her robe and peeking warily out at the group of shining figures.

"What do you want?" Maitimo seemed to be as dead as Netye, his eyes as cold, and his every movement and aspect that of a warrior. 

Arafinwë wasn't sure if he wanted these elves on their side or not. They were so very different from the gentle cousin and nephew he had once had that he did not recognise them.

**************

They were shown in short order to their lodgings and left to refresh for dinner. Wisely, the group also took the opportunity to assimilate their impressions of what had already happened. 

"Who were the children? I would have thought them to be the twins, but they look exactly like the lady Seregruth and seem quite attached to the Kinslayers." Celeborn's voice, as always was laden with disgust at the final word.

"Seregruth is no Kinslayer. When the Sons of Fëanor attacked Doriath, she actually left Amon Ereb for three years." Gil-galad's voice was calm and firm, leaving do doubt as to the veracity of his statement. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Netye - Pretty/Dainty One (Quenya)  
> Seregruth - hard to translate but the general meaning is supposed to be Blood Anger. Basically she got her Sindarin epessë for her fury over the Kinslayings.


	2. Talking Without Speaking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elrond and Elros slip up - Eldritch!Peredhil make their first appearance!

They were in the middle of a heated debate when a knock on the door interrupted them. Celebrimbor opened the door and found the same guard from before. "I have come to escort you to the dining hall, Lords, Ladies. If you would follow me." Still bemused at her abrupt manner, they followed her almost automatically, through the maze of corridors. Arafinwë tried to remember. Left, left, right, left, right, left, left, right, right, right, right, left, left. He got lost very quickly, and was glad for the guide.

Finally they were led through double doors of some strange dull grey metal and into the hall where the residents of Amon Ereb dined. Hall, was more than slightly an understatement. If they had seen the blueprints, they would have realised that this carvernous space took up nearly an entire two levels of the hollow mountain complex.

It was always noisy and boisterous in any communal dining space, and this was no exception. As the guard led them up betwern the rows of tables, Arafinwë spotted at least four food fights. The children ran around shrieking, the adults laughing at their antics and occasionally starting up after a tumble and sitting down with the child to comfort it, seemingly indiscrimimate of whether or not the child belonged to them as long as it was comforted. Arafinwë knew because he had seen one tiny Dwarven toddler fall over five times and on each seperate occasion a different being came to its aid - two elves, a dwarf and three humans.

At the head table sat the three rulers of the Feanorian Noldor. Maedhros and Seregruth sat together, talking in low voices as they poured over a map weighted down with their plates, both wearing still the leather tunic and leggings that they had been in earlier that day. Maglor seemed to be singing quietly to himself or to the two boys sitting next to him. He at least, had donned robes in the intervening time. Of the children of Ne-Seregruth there was no sign, no child of that age in the huge hall with the distinctive Vanya hair. The children listening to Maglor sing seemed the image of him, even down to the slightly uneven eyebrows. It was a little unnerving.

"My lords, my lady?" The three looked up, Maglor smiling and gesturing for them to sit at empty places at the High Table and dismissing the guard with a grin. Maedhros and Seregruth gave them a brief nod and returned to the map. 

Arafinwë found himself in between Seregruth and the twin on Maglor's left. The child started slightly, and then stared at him before reaching back and tugging Maglor's sleeve. "Sídh penneth. He means no harm." What had prompted Maglor to speak so? No one had spoken. "No, he cannot help it, and I cannot do anything about it. You will just have to deal with i- Ai!" The sharp exclamation of pain made within earshot immediately turn. Maglor covered his ear with his hands and moaned slightly. "That fucking hurt you little fiend." Arafinwë was more than slightly concerned about his nephew's state of mind. The child's eyes had not left him the entire time, and now the other was staring as well. He was sure that they had looked exactly like Maglor when he came in, but Maglor did not have eyes so huge or that contained the Void. These eyes were black, seeming to suck the light in. 

"Ionnath! What did you do now?" Seregruth and Maedhros had left their seats and were now crowded around them, Seregruth looking impassively at the two identical boys and Maedhros speaking in a low tone to his brother who was now curled up clutching his head as he hissed in pain. 

"Goheno nin Amil." Amil? But Seregruth's missing children had gold hair and blue eyes. These were not they. Arafinwë was highly confused. 

She did not look impressed. "I am not asking for an apology but for why you tried to fry your uncle's brain again." 

One boy's face suddenly...melted, or distorted. Instead of Void-like eyes and clearly Noldorin features, he had distinct Telerin or Sindarin features, tears glimmering in his now normal grey eyes. "He was thinking so loud Amil. And Tôrada said he couldn't do anything about it. And it hurt! He's still doing it." The other twin had not changed, but he also looked tearfully up at Seregruth.

"Elerossë Canteafinwë Alcarin Neyafinwion! You could have killed him! And Arafinwë did not mean to think so loud. Being uncomfortable with hearing someone's thoughts does not give you the right to abuse your power, especially by taking it out on your uncle. And do not think that the Elured and Elurin line will work on me." It all ended up with the boy being sent to bed and Maglor taken to the infirmary, still clutching his head. The child glared sulkily at his parents as the still nameless guard led him away, his face set in heavy grin lines like the Avari. 

Seregruth and Maedhros sat down again, Maedhros sighing a little as the other immediately began pestering him for...something. Arafinwë took the time to address the matter at hand. "Net- sorry, Seregruth." She looked at him steadily. 

''I suppose you want to know about the twins." He nodded and she heaved a heavy sigh. "First, you should know that I did not follow my husband in any of his sins in killing kin. So when they attacked Sirion, I did not know until they came back with two traumatised children and a brother gone." Two children...the sons of Elwing. Could it be? No, the Kinslayers would not..surely. "Elrond and Elros are not...normal. They can see and hear things that other do not, and they can...twist, shall we say, the Music. We have taught them to harness and to control their power as much as they are able to at their age." A pit of lead appeared in Arafinwë's stomach. So the Kinslayers had mind-turned them and were planning to use them as weapons. He had to get the poor children out of this place. "But they can sometimes...abuse their power. Often if they are displeased, they lash out. It is hard to name what they do, but we call it 'Burning'. Essentially, they use a...whip shall we say, of power and scourge the affected mind. Elros is in a lot of trouble for what he did to his uncle." They were definitely training the children as weapons. A hiss distracted him, and he looked for the source, startled. The other boy, Elrond, was hissing at him, lips drawn back over a mouthful of thin, needle-like teeth that really couldn't be natural, and...was that a forked tongue? Certainty the child suddenly had a great likeness to a snake. 

"Elrond. Enough." The child's face suddenly smoothed into delicate features, uncannily perfect even for the Eldar, seemingly a ball of light encased in translucent skin. He looked innocent, and beautiful. 

"Goheno nin Ammë. I will try to behave."

Dinner could not end quickly enough for Arafinwë. Not when the strange, ever-changing child sat only a few places beyond him, the very fabric of his being changing every few seconds.


End file.
